DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RESOURCES ACROSS THE FIRST YEAR OF NEWLY DIAGNOSED ASIAN CANCER OUTPATIENTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Asian cancer patients report elevated levels of psychiatric sequelae as compared to the general population. Improving certain positive psychosocial resources, or innate traits, such as hope, optimism, resilience, mindfulness, and spirituality, may potentially ameliorate these elevated non-somatic symptoms of anxiety and depression in these patients. The present exploratory study on newly-diagnosed Asian cancer patients in Singapore therefore sought to determine the course of psychosocial resources, depression, and anxiety across patients? first year of diagnosis; determine the prevalence of subsyndromal anxiety and depression; and investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between psychosocial resources and these non-somatic symptoms of anxiety and depression. Findings revealed that all variables of interest were stable across their first year of diagnosis, and that aspects of spirituality, namely meaning/peace and faith, significantly influenced depression and anxiety scores across time over and above sociodemographic and medical variables. Implications and directions for future work and interventions are discussed.